Patna, March 25: The high court today reserved judgment on a bunch of petitions seeking direction to the state government to take over 390 government-recognised primary schools.

A single-judge bench of Justice Mridula Mishra reserved the order on a petition filed by Yoganand Jha, general secretary of Bihar Arajkiya Prathmik Shikshak Sangharsh Samiti, and others challenging the order passed by human resources development secretary, cancelling the taking over of these schools by the state government.

While referring to the Cabinet decision of June 30, 1993, the then human resources development (HRD) secretary had on September 25, 2006 issued an order saying the cabinet had cancelled its decision to take over 982 schools that included 390 government-recognised primary schools.

Awdhesh Kumar Mishra, counsel for the petitioners, submitted that the HRD secretary order of 2006 should be set aside as the list of the 390 schools had been approved by the state cabinet way back on January 16, 1990.

These 390 schools are different from the 982 schools whose names were recommended by the minister and legislators for the take over, Mishra said.

Explaining the difference between these two types of schools under consideration, the counsel said previously the government had taken a decision to take over those primary schools that have been given recognition by the government till January 1, 1971. The number of such schools was 54,000, which was taken over by the government in a phase-wise manner.

In the first phase, the government took over around 53,500 schools and later between 1982 and 1984 the government took over another 110. The remaining 390 schools were approved for take over by the state cabinet in January 1990, Mishra, who was assisted by Arun Kumar Mandal, said.

Around 4,000 teachers of these 390 schools could not get their salaries as the government never issued any notification in this regard and hence the aggrieved teachers approached the high court which directed departmentís secretary to consider their pleas.